Pre-Trib Rapture Diehards! | Dave MacPherson

Pre-Trib Rapture Diehards!

By Dave MacPherson, B.A.

Since the 1970's stunning new data has been surfacing about the pretribulation rapture's long-covered-up beginnings in the 1800's.

In recent years several persons associated with Dallas Theological Seminary (which had long been pretribized) have reportedly gone to Britain to check on my research sources and then write books opposing my claims.

In 1990 an Ohio pastor told me that Dr. _____ _____, the most qualified DTS prof, traveled there and came back and wrote nothing! The pastor added that he and some others had a good laugh. But change was coming.

In 1993 Chuck Swindoll, who became DTS president after John Walvoord, stated: "I'm not sure we're going to make dispensationalism [the chief attraction of which is a pretrib rapture] a part of our marquee as we talk about our school." When asked if the word "dispensationalism" would disappear, he answered: "It may and perhaps it should" ("Christianity Today," Oct. 25, 1993)! But a few diehards (with the stubbornness of Iraqi insurgents and New Orleans looters) keep on milking their cash cow while continuing to cover up and twist the following historical facts about their latter-day, cult-like belief:

1825: British preacher Edward Irving revealed that he had been teaching some of dispensationalism's key aspects as early as late 1825. (John Darby-exalter R. A. Huebner has never even claimed to find any original prophetic idea in Darby before late 1826!)

1827-1830: Darby was still posttrib during these years. His 1827 paper had him waiting for only the posttrib "restitution of all things." After discussing in 1828 the "unity" of the church, he looked for only the Rev. 19 coming in 1829 and 1830.

1830: During the spring a young woman in Scotland, Margaret Macdonald, declared that she had discovered in the Bible what had never been seen by others: a rapture of "church" members described as a "pre-Antichrist" (or pretrib) event. Her words: "one taken and the other left" before "THE WICKED [Antichrist] be revealed." She was a partial rapturist seeing only part of the "church" raptured and the rest of the "church" left on earth. When she wrote that the "trial of the Church is from Antichrist," she meant the part of the church not included in her pretrib rapture. Leading partial rapturists including Pember and Govett have always applied the word "church" to the ones "left behind." Robert Norton, Irvingite historian and on-scene witness of Margaret's utterances, wrote that Margaret was the "first" to privately teach pretrib.

A September article in "The Morning Watch" (Irvingite journal) saw the "Philadelphia" church raptured before a "period of great tribulation" and the "Laodicea" church left on earth. Huebner's "Precious Truths" claimed that Philadelphia was seen raptured before only the "seventh vial" and not before "the great tribulation" even though the article writer added twice on following pages that this "period" was indeed "the great tribulation"! In the previous (June) issue the same writer had seen Philadelphia on earth until the final posttrib advent. In between these two issues, TMW writers had visited Margaret who explained her new "revelation" which was soon reflected on TMW pages without giving her credit! In December a published article by Darby was still defending the posttrib view!

1833: British lawyer Robert Baxter, an ex-Irvingite, wrote that the pretrib "delusion first appeared in Scotland" before it began to be taught in London the following year.

1834: A Darby letter referred to the new pretrib rapture view, stated that "the thoughts are new," and advocated the subtle introduction of it by writing "it would not be well to have it so clear"! Darby also called it the "new wine." Others who knew that pretrib was then a new view included other Plymouth Brethren, Irvingites, Margaret, and later 19th century historians such as Margaret Oliphant who referred to "a new revelation" in 1830 in western Scotland where Margaret Macdonald lived.

1837: Years after Darby supposedly had derived a distinction (or separation) between the "church" and "Israel," his 1837 article saw the church "going in with Him to the marriage, to wit, with Jerusalem and the Jews"!

1839: The first year Darby was clearly pretrib. His pretrib basis then (and during the next three decades) was Rev. 12:5's "man child" that is "caught up." But this "new" Darby teaching was actually a plagiarism of Edward Irving who had been using this verse for the same (pretrib) purpose since 1831!

1843: In a letter written from Switzerland, Darby referred to "the dissemination of truth and blessing...thus spreading on the right hand and on the left, without knowing whence it came or how it sprung up all of a sudden...." Here he gloated that others didn't know "whence" pretrib came or that he had advocated the subtle sneaking of the new pretrib view into existing groups (see "1834" above)!

1853: Darby's book "The Irrationalism of Infidelity" recalled his visit to Margaret Macdonald and her brothers in mid-1830. He remembered 23 minor details but carefully omitted the most important one: Margaret's teaching of a coming of Christ that would exempt believers from the great tribulation "judgments"----a detail that all others who visited her and then wrote accounts could easily remember! (It's obvious that Todd Strandberg's mother didn't soap his mouth enough because even though he knows better after the airing of "Open Letter to Todd Strandberg" on the internet, his falsehood-packed "Margaret MacDonald Who?" article on his "Rapture Ready" site continues to pollute minds by stating that I "have never been able to prove that Darby had ever heard of MacDonald or her vision"!)

1855: An article by eminent Brethren scholar S. P. Tregelles tied "Judaisers" to pretrib. But in an 1864 book he tied "Irving's Church" to pretrib. Both Huebner and Walvoord claimed that Tregelles contradicted himself, and Huebner charged Tregelles with "untruth and slander." But even William Kelly, Darby's editor, saw no contradiction and wrote, concerning "Judaising," that "nowhere is this so patent as in Irvingism"!

1861: Robert Norton, medical doctor and Irvingite, wrote that the "true origin" of pretrib had been "hidden and misrepresented." (This was about the time that Kelly was working towards the goal of elevating Darby and giving the false impression that Darby should be credited with the pretrib view.) Several pages later, in the same book, Norton revealed Margaret as the true originator of pretrib.

1863: In his "Five Letters" leading Brethren scholar Tregelles wrote that some Brethren had been unscrupulously issuing tracts by the thousands in which they changed the "words and doctrines" of "the Reformers and others" to give the impression that those ancient writers had actually been teaching the novel doctrines that some Darbyist Brethren were then circulating in the 1800's!

1864: Brethren scholar Tregelles charged fellow Brethren with changing even the words in ancient hymns: "Sometimes from a hymn being altered, writers appear to set forth a secret rapture of which they had never heard, or against which they have protested." I should add that in an 1865 letter Darby asked his editor to preserve the newer (pretrib) hymns and "correct the others," that is, the older (posttrib) ones!

1860's: From the 1860's to the 1880's William Kelly, editor of Darby's works, was busy putting together some volumes known as "The Collected Writings of J. N. Darby." Opposition to Darbyism had been increasing and Kelly was determined to fight it and continue to exalt Darby. His goal was to present a Darby that was prophetically "mature" long before he actually matured. He achieved this dishonesty with misleading words in brackets inside sentences in Darby's early works, and with footnotes that he "borrowed" from Darby's much later works when he was obviously more developed! Darby even gave this deviousness his blessing. In an 1865 letter to Kelly he wrote: "I should think that some of the Notes would require some revising....Even the sermons contain things I should not accept...." Kelly even flaunted his shameful manipulation in a footnote to Darby's 1830 article; the note said that "it was not worth while either suppressing or changing it."

Interestingly, since the Irvingites were clear (and clearly first) when it came to public pretrib teaching, they didn't need later "fixers" to dishonestly correct their original statements!

1872: In an article in "The Princeton Review," Thomas Croskery of Ireland listed beliefs of the Plymouth Brethren including these: "That the moral law is of no use at all to believers" and "that believers have nothing to do in the way of keeping themselves from sin for God must look to them if He will...." He said that "Mr. Darby" pursues his opponents "with a virulence that has no parallel in the history of religious controversy."

1877: A medical doctor, James Carson, wrote that "the Darbyites have managed to cloak their opinions by using language in a Jesuitical sense...." He added: "Unless a person makes himself properly acquainted with the opinions" of Darbyites and argues "with the utmost precision on every point...it is impossible to manage such wily and slippery customers."

1879: A later work by Thomas Croskery declared that "Brethrenite doctrine...clearly tends to immorality." He then quoted Darby's editor, William Kelly, who stated: "I am no longer, as a Christian man, having to do with the responsibility that attaches to mortal man, but am passed now into a new state, even while I am in the world." Rev. Frederick Whitfield spoke of "the flagrant immoralities among the Plymouth Brethren" while James Grant commented: "Darbyism is the most selfish religious system with which I am acquainted."

1880: William Reid's work on Brethrenism revealed that "no other sect was, perhaps, ever so fruitful of divisions" and referred to "the novel doctrines propounded by some of its leaders." He quoted Lord Congleton, a leading Brethren member, who asked: "Have you tried these Brethren ---- the Darbyites?....They are false in what they say of their brethren, they are false in doctrine, and they are false in their walk."
And Henry Craik, a colleague of George Muller, was also quoted: "The truth is, Brethrenism as such, is broken to pieces. By pretending to be wiser, holier, more spiritual, more enlightened, than all other Christians; by rash and unprofitable intrusions into things not revealed; by making mysticism and eccentricity the test of spiritual life and depth; by preferring a dreamy and imaginative theology to the solid food of the Word of God...." (Leading Brethren scholar Harold Rowdon's 1967 book "The Origins of the Brethren," p. 253, quoted earlier Brethren member Lord Congleton who was "disgusted with...the falseness" of Darby's narratives. Rowdon also quoted a historian of the Brethren, W. B. Neatby, who wrote that "the time-honoured method of single combat" was as good a method as any "to elicit the truth" from Darby!)

1880's: In 1880, a year after his Christian conversion, C. I. Scofield was in the St. Louis jail for forgery because he'd stolen his mother-in-law's life savings in a real estate scam. In 1883 his first wife divorced him (for desertion) and he remarried three months later. Although he had no formal theological training, he began putting a non-conferred "D.D." after his name in the 1890's. In 1899, when he preached D. L. Moody's funeral sermon, he still owed thousands of dollars that he had stolen from acquaintances 20 years earlier. (In 1921 he advised his daughter, who then had financial problems, to pray to an ancient Catholic saint; at the same time his Scofield Bible, p. 1346, was predicting a future reign of "apostate Christendom, headed up under the Papacy"!)

1889: Aware that for 60 years the leading historians----whether Brethren or Irvingite----had been crediting someone in Irving's circle (and not Darby's circle!) with the pretrib rapture, Darby's editor William Kelly embarked on a sinister plan to discredit the Irvingites (and their female inspiration) and belatedly (and falsely) give credit for pretrib to Darby. He achieved this in 1889-1890 in a series of articles in his own British journal while analyzing the Irvingites in a supposedly fair and honest manner. Let's see a few of the many examples of his clever dishonesty:

When quoting early Irvingites like Baxter and Norton, Kelly would consistently skip over their clear pretrib teaching but quote just before and after it! And he was a change artist. When Irvingites would write about their pretrib "rapture," Kelly loved to water it down into only their belief in the "Second Coming"! If the Irvingites expressed their belief in an imminent pretrib catching up, Kelly revised it into their "constantly to be expected Lord"! When Irving's followers hoped to escape, by rapture, the coming "tribulation," their "tribulation" was changed by Kelly into only "corrupt or apostate evils"! My 300-page book "The Rapture Plot" has 16 pages (!) of glaring specimens of short quotes exhibiting Kelly's shameful revisions of Irvingite doctrine!

1918: A prophetic book by E. P. Cachemaille discussed the pretrib origin, tied it to the 1830's, then added: "There has since been much scheming to give the doctrine a reputable origin, scheming by those who did not know the original facts, not being contemporaries of Dr. Tregelles."

1942: Noted prophecy teacher H. A. Ironside, who had a Brethren background, dared to assert, minus evidence, that what early Brethren taught re the rapture was "so contrary" to what the Irvingites had been teaching, adding that no links had existed between the two groups!

1960: After mentioning that the claim that Darby originated pretrib "is certainly open to question," evangelical scholar Clarence Bass wrote: "More probably, however, its origin can be traced through the Irvingite movement." But he failed to elaborate, evidently aware that he would be opening a can of you-know-what!

1973: Darby worshiper R. A. Huebner wrote that "The Irvingites (1828-1834) never held the pretribulation rapture or any 'any-moment' views." He was aware that many couldn't know how close he had repeatedly come to clear pretrib teaching by Irvingites and then had covered up everything while using the same devious tactics his inspiration William Kelly had used a century earlier while analyzing the same Irvingites!
My "Plot" book has a 31-page chapter of many quotes from the earliest Irvingites showing that they repeatedly and clearly taught pretrib as well as imminence. For example, in 1832 the Irvingite journal said that "some" will be "left in the great tribulation...after the translation of the saints." We've already seen clear pretribism in the Sep., 1830 issue of the Irvingite journal. It's bad enough that Huebner (who never attended seminary, college, or even Bible school) has mind-poisoned his tiny circle of Darby-idolizers, but disastrous that pretrib leaders like Walvoord, Ryrie, LaHaye, and Ice were apparently "too busy" to check Huebner's sources and later on too proud to admit they'd been taken in by him!

The parallels between Huebner and his two inspirations, Darby and Kelly, are astounding. Like them, he easily applies "demon" to opponents and their beliefs. Like them, he exaggerates and even purposely muddies up Darby's earliest pretrib development and Darby's later reminiscences. And like them, he can deftly dance around pretrib "cobras" in Irvingism (and its female inspiration) without getting bitten! In his 1973 book, Huebner had 95 copying errors when quoting others including pretrib leaders! (For more shocks on the internet, type in "Humbug Huebner.")

1989: Thomas Ice, one of the biggest pretrib diehards, doesn't have favorites when he discusses the pretrib origin; he can use deviousness as well as sloppiness. When he reproduced Margaret's short "revelation" account he somehow left out 48 words! As if his carelessness wasn't bad enough, his reproduction also included four distinctive errors that Hal Lindsey had made in his own reproduction of it in 1983----what Ice chose to do instead of going to the original 19th century sources! (See my internet piece "Thomas Ice - Hired Gun" if you are shockproof.)

1990: A year after his "rapture" of 48 words from Margaret's handwritten "revelation" account, Ice was elevated all the way up to Dallas Seminary's journal which published his article on pretrib history. In it he had some copying errors when quoting John Bray, Huebner, and Walvoord. Even worse, when he quoted the same Margaret Macdonald account, he skipped right over what he knew was her main point (a catching up of church members just before the Antichrist is revealed) even though he quoted shortly before and after it! And when quoting present-day Brethren scholar Harold Rowdon, he used an ellipsis to cover up Rowdon's evidence in his 1967 book that Irvingite development preceded Darby's!

1991: After many objective, no-axe-to-grind scholars had publicly endorsed my research (which emphasized Margaret, the Irvingites, and 1830), R. A. Huebner, aware of the same objective scholarship and determined to negate it, came out with a book in which he claimed to find Darby teaching pretrib in 1827----that is, three years before Margaret etc. But halfway through his book (which had more than 250 copying errors!), he admitted that his 1827 "proof" could refer to something completely different! Nevertheless, diehard Thomas Ice, after admitting to me that he was indeed aware of Huebner's change, continues to declare publicly that Huebner's 1991 book "proves" that Darby was pretrib as early as 1827!

1992: When Tim LaHaye's "No Fear of the Storm" reproduced Margaret's short account, he "left behind" 48 words----the same 48 words that Ice had left out in 1989! In the same book LaHaye made 84 other copying errors when discussing pretrib beginnings! Although he had a whole chapter focusing on my origin research, un-scholar LaHaye didn't list any of my books in footnotes or bibliography which kept readers from being able to find out what I had actually written! And LaHaye based his analysis on inaccurate secondhand sources and also made many copying errors when quoting them.

For many years Tim and Beverly LaHaye's "conservative" organizations have raked in millions of dollars while telling folks to vote for only "moral" political candidates, and while appearing to be very pro-family and anti-gay. What they haven't revealed is that their son Lee LaHaye has long been the Chief Financial Officer of Concerned Women for America and that Lee is openly gay ! Can we be sure that "Left Behind" Tim isn't just as hypocritical with his pro-pretrib stance? (If you're man or woman enough, warm up your computer and type in "Pretrib Hypocrisy," "LaHaye's Temperament," "Tim LaHaye's gay son," "God to Same-Sexers: Hurry Up," and "Thieves' Marketing"----for starters!)

2005: In the August "Pre-Trib Perspectives" Thomas Ice again had the audacity to claim that the late Prof. Paul Alexander saw a "pretribulational translation" in Pseudo-Ephraem's now famous Medieval sermon. But Ice has known since 1995 that Alexander's 1985 book has textual as well as outline summaries of P-E's chronological order of endtime events----both summaries showing only one final coming of Christ that follows the great tribulation and not even a hint of a pretrib coming in either summary! Is it possible that Ice knows more than the professor whose book somehow inspired one of the desperate pretrib diehards? As Eph. 4:14 puts it, Ice knows how to "lie in wait to deceive." And lie and lie! (See my internet paper "Deceiving and Being Deceived" and discover the calculated dishonesty in the Pseudo-Ephraem and Morgan Edwards claims plus other dishonesty including massive plagiarism in some of today's leading pretrib diehards! Type in my name and see all of my internet items. Since Ice and LaHaye are associated with the Pre-Trib Research Center which has its own site, you may feel inspired to write them, ask them some blunt questions, and even send them a copy of this paper.)

PS - You can win $1000.00 if you can prove that I have ever covered up or watered down any crucial aspect of pretrib rapture history! If you would like to obtain my No. 1 book on pretrib history entitled "The Rapture Plot" which expands the info in this paper and has much other documentation, call 800.643.4645.

[Dear Think-Alikers: Feel free to publish this latest effort of mine. If you are so led, please plant the words "pretrib" and "pretrib rapture" on search engines so that our deluded pretrib brothers and sisters can hopefully be guided to the info here. (Note the last half of the "1992" item! What will we hear next - a new church for "Christian Satanists"?) Friend Wife and I plan to leave the last week of Sep. for a couple weeks visiting our aged loves ones in Kansas and New Mexico (where my 97-year-old stepmother lives). Please pray for them and ourselves as we travel. For years (to save what little money we get from my Social Security and from Wanda's job at a motel here - which is also our humble residence), we have slept in our short-bed (sleepers like beds!) '93 Toyota pickup with camper shell (which has 230,000 miles) during trips. After Wanda starts getting her S.S. next year, we hope to travel and maybe get to meet some of you! In case you're wondering, our little 501-c-3 P.O.S.T. Inc., which issues tax-deductible receipts, has averaged $2550.00 annually in income the past few years. (Falwell and LaHaye get more in a few days than we get in a whole year! At least we don't have to lean on the blasphemous head of the Moonies to get monies!) We're doing our part to help demolish pretrib - a straitjacket that has kept millions from opening up their minds to consider more important matters than many of you are concerned about! Lord bless, let's stay in touch! Rapturously in Him alone, Dave]

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Date: 14 Oct 2005
Time: 14:05:17

Comments:

It seems several strange ideas or religious movements which have survived into our day had their start in the 1800's. Darbyism/dispensationalism, The Book of Mormon, and the Millerites/7th Day Adventism. Could there be some connection between these and Darwinism? I've read parts of the Book Of Mormon, and it's obviously a work of religious fiction, but it seems to be intended to be taken by readers who don't know better as historical documents that support the authenticity and inspiration of the Bible. Darbyism and the teaching of the Millerites may well have been an attempt to make the Bible seem more relevant to contemporary life by teaching that the prophecies contained in it are coming to pass and the coming of the Lord could happen at any time (or in the case of the Millerites, at a known time)LOL. If these things are true, it by no means justifies these teachings. If anything, it shows the foolishness of man who is unwilling to let God prove Himself right

Date: 08 Jan 2006
Time: 14:15:41

Comments:

I am a student of Gods word and I beleave as you do about this so called rapture theory. These folks are looking for a easy way out of trouble but are we in this age a more holier than thou people than Paul and Peter and all of the saints that suffered afterwords and even now for the sake of the gospel? Think about the little old man that left his home to do missonary work in China 40 years ago and has not had his name on tv or in the spot light and now in his old age still working for the Lord. Thanks

Date: 05 May 2006
Time: 13:00:46

Comments:

I don't think you understand church history or theprogressive nature of the revelation of God's word. THe pre tribulational view of the rapture is clearly taught by Paul in his epistles to the Thessolonians. Unless you are goingto claim textual problems with the new testament, you have no ground to stand on. You rnoticing that the commentaries expousing a pretribulationalview of the rapture became popular right around the same time as the printing press was available enough for the use of the common man. If you understood the growth of the communicaiton industry, you would no be surprised at the emergence of text with this teaching at that time.

Date: 08 Jun 2006
Time: 07:17:00

Comments:

"Clearly" taught in I Thessalonians? Pre tribbers like to say their teachings are "clearly" taught. They have a word problem..clearly would mean a scripture that reads something like. "And before the 7 year tribulation, all the Christians will be raptured into heaven to be with the Lord, and not have to go through the tribulation." THAT would be "clearly" teaching a pre trib rapture. What we do have written is nothing like that, and is only "clear" to those who want it to be there.

Date: 22 Aug 2006
Time: 06:02:02

Comments:

I agree with the previous poster. It has been my experience that those who hold to the "pre-trib" view bend and contort and stretch the passages of I Thessalonians to fit their beliefs or wants of a pre-trib rapture. What I see is a spoiled American church that has gotten too big for its britches having lived in a free and wealthy country so long that it cannot go without being comfortable. They have NO sense of what true persecution is because they have been kept safe from it. To think that God is going to secretly lift us out 7 years before is ludicrous. Why? Because, first of all, the real terrible portion of the 7-year period is the last 3 and a half years. THAT is the period that will be worse than any other time before it or after it, just as Jesus told His disciples. If there was to be a pre-trib rapture then it would happen sometime before that period, perhaps, while things still looked nice and peaceful and a "time" when we "think not." But for us to think that we are going

Date: 12 Jan 2007
Time: 20:13:09

Comments:

I think your nuts! just read your bible, not the minds of men, men may be flawed but the word of God is not.

Date: 02 Apr 2009
Time: 19:21:36

Your Comments:

Well I say God bless you for your interest in Scripture. It's not how you interpret the Scriptures but if you are saved that's important. Doylene

Date: 10 May 2010
Time: 12:59:03

Your Comments:

I read a webpage today... a man said that the only intelligent view of Prophecy is to have a two stage 2nd coming of Christ! It is my guess that he has never read 1 John 2:28, where the coming and the appearing are simultaneous. DougLamb You may email me at rapturehoax@cox.net www.rapture-truth.com

Date: 26 Jul 2010
Time: 20:37:15

Your Comments:

DOES THE BIBLE GIVE US CLUES FOR THE EXACT DATES IN THE CHRONOLOGY OF JESUS CHRIST??
All encyclopedias state that Augustus Caesar died in August of AD 14 and therefore the 15th year of the reign of his successor, Tiberius Caesar, would have been from August of AD 28 to August of AD 29. Luke 3:1,2: �In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar� the Word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.� Now we know from Luke 3:1-3 above that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius which most likely began on his 30th birthday according to OT Law {As per I Chron 23:3}. And we know from Luke 1:35-37 that John was 5 to 6 months older than Jesus. Luke 3:23: �Now Jesus Himself was as thirty years old when He began His ministry.� So if Jesus began His ministry on His 30th human birthday {As per OT Law} on or about December 2nd, AD 29 then John would have began his ministry 5 to 6 months earlier About June 2nd to July 2nd, AD 29 which would been in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar since the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar was completed in August of AD 29.
We will show later that the 30th birthday of Jesus was about December 2nd, AD 29 and that He was baptized or Anointed 40 days earlier on October 23rd, AD 29. And that the Resurrection Day of our Lord Jesus was exactly 1260 days after His Anointing on October 23rd, AD 29 which would have been on April 5th, AD 33.
Numbers 28:16: �On the 14th day of the 1st month the Lord�s Passover is to be held.� Exodus 12:6,7,12,13: �Take care of them {The Passover Lambs} until the 14th day of the month when all the people of Israel must slaughter them at Twilight {Just after sundown}. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the doorframes of their houses. On that same night I will strike down the firstborn of the Egyptians� but when I see the blood I will PASS OVER you.� Deut 16:1: �Observe the month of ABIB and celebrate the PASS OVER of the Lord your God, because in the month of ABIB He brought you out of Egypt by night.� Luke 22:7,8: Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover Lamb �Had� to be sacrificed. Jesus said, �Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.� Christ became our Passover Lamb on Passover Day! 1 Cor 5:7: �For Christ our PASSOVER LAMB has been sacrificed.� Whereas the Jews {who were following the evil Babylonian moon calendar held their Passover on the 15th of Nisan which always occurs on the night of a full moon} observed the Passover on the wrong day as per John 18:28: �Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman Governor {Pilate}. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; for they wanted to be able to eat the PASSOVER!!� Which would have been the day �AFTER� Jesus correctly held the Passover on the 14th of ABIB which God has commanded. So we can assume that the month of ABIB is different from the Babylonian moon month of Nisan and therefore has nothing to do with the moon. So then when does the first month of the Bible Year called ABIB begin?? Some have speculated that it may begin of the first day of Spring which comes every March 21st.
If you go to the Internet under {www.timeanddate.com/calendar} you will be able to find the calendar for the month of April AD 33 {Backspace and remove AD 2010 and type in AD 33}. You will observe that April 2nd, AD 33 was on a Thursday and that April 5th, AD 33 was on a Sunday. So it is quite possible that Jesus held the Passover right after Sundown on April 2nd, AD 33; was crucified on Friday, April 3rd, AD 33; and then was raised to life on Sunday, April 5th, AD 33. Then the 14th day of the first Bible month of ABIB or PASSOVER DAY would have begun on the 14th day after March 21st AD 33 {The first day of Spring}. This absolutely confirmed by the fact that there was a full moon {The 15th of Nisan} on April 3rd AD 33 {As per full moon footnote on calendar for April AD 33 proven by the exact science of Astronomy} which would have been the day AFTER Jesus correctly held the PASSOVER on the 14th of ABIB or at twilight on Thursday, April 2nd, AD 33. If the first day of ABIB was from sundown, March 20th, AD 33 to sundown March 21st, AD 33 then the 14th day of ABIB or Passover Day would have been from sundown, April 2nd, AD 33 to sundown, April 3rd, AD 33. And so our Lord�s Resurrection Day is always on the 16th of Abib; which is always on April 5th each and every year!! Actually Jesus was also in the grave 3 NIGHTS since from the 6th to the 9th hour {About 1PM to 4PM} on Friday, April 5th, AD 33 �The sun stopped shining and darkness came over the whole land� as per Luke 23:45 and Matthew 27:45.

***WILL THE REIGN OF 666 AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION LAST EXACTLY 1260 DAYS??

By comparing Revelation 12:6b and Revelation 12:14b we find that 1260 Days and Time {360 Days} Times {720 Days} and � a Time {180 Days} are the exact same period of time. Likewise, when we compare Revelation 13:5b with Daniel 7:25b we learn that 42 {30-day Bible} MONTHS and Time {12 Months}, Times {24 Months} and � a Time {6 Months} are also the exact same period of time. And therefore 42 {30-Day Bible Months} and Time, Times and � a Time are the exact same period of time since 42 X 30 days equal exactly 1260 days.
12 Months = 360 Days = {1 Time} 24 Months = 720 Days = {2 Times} 6 Months = 180 Days = {Half a Time} and therefore: 42 Months = 1260 Days = {3 and a Half Times}
Almost all conservative Bible theologians agree that the 4th Beast of Daniel 7:7,19 is the *ROMAN* Empire. In Daniel 7:20,21 we learn that a little horn who is also called a *KING* in Daniel 7:24 will come from this *ROMAN* Empire. Daniel 7:24b,25-27: �A *KING* {From the *ROMAN* Empire--Nero Caesar??} will arise�. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints. The saints will be handed over to him for a Time, Times and � a Time.� {Which is also 42 {30-day} MONTHS or 1260 DAYS--*NOT* 7 years} �But the court will sit, and his {666 or the Roman King or the Beast-See Rev 19:20,21 and 2 Thess 2:8} power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. *THEN* the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole Heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom.�
Revelation 13:5,7a: �The Beast {Who was a *KING* from the �City on 7 hills��Or *ROME*--See Rev 17:9-11,18} will utter proud words and blasphemies and will exercise his authority for *42 MONTHS* {Which is also 1260 days or Time, Times and � a Time--*NOT* 7 years}. *42* Jewish/Babylonian moon months have always been only 1239 days since 29.5 days X 42 months = 1239 days. {A new moon comes every 29 � days}
And then in Daniel 12:1,2,6b,7b we learn that the resurrection of the saved and the lost will occur at the �END� of the Great Tribulation that will last for Time, Times and � a Time which is also 42 MONTHS or 1260 DAYS--*NOT* 7 years.
FOR EXAMPLE: If the 1260-day Tribulation begins on October 23rd, 2010 then it must then end exactly 1260 days later or on April 5th, 2014 which would be the LAST DAY or RESURRECTION DAY or DAY OF THE LORD.
Daniel 12:1B,2,6B,7B:�There will be a time of distress such as not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people�EVERYONE whose name is found written in the Book�will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt� It will be for a Time, Times and � a Time {Or 1260 days or 42 Months}. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken *ALL THESE THINGS {The 1260-day Great Tribulation immediately followed by the resurrection of the saved and lost} WILL BE *COMPLETED*!!�
Isaiah 46:10a,11b: God says, �I make known the *END* from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come� What I have said, that will I bring about, what I have planned that will I do!�
NOTE: The prophecies and time periods found in Daniel 8:1-27 {1150 days or 2300 morning & evening sacrifices} & Daniel 10:11 to 11:45 & Daniel 12:11,12 {1290 & 1335 Days} were all completely fulfilled during the evil reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV from 172 BC to 164 BC {See Macabees 1:10,44-64; 4:52,53} and have absolutely nothing to do with the time periods and prophecies of the 1260-Day Great Tribulation. Daniel 12:1-10 was an End-Time Prophecy parenthesis { } which did not include Daniel 11:45 nor Daniel 12:11,12. Almost all of the prophecies in the OT are a parenthesis { } in a text which had nothing to do with the prophecy.
Now there are some who suggest that the Anti-Christ will exercise his authority for 7 years {Not 42 Months} and that the Great Tribulation will last 7 years {Not 1260 Days or 3 � Times}. They have only **ONE** Bible verse {Daniel 9:27�which they grossly misinterpret} to support this idea which absolutely contradicts God�s Divine Time Periods as found in Rev 13:5b, Dan 7:25b & Dan 12:7b.
NOTE: According to Leviticus 25:8 a Sabbath �week� is *7 YEARS and 7 times 7 YEARS or �weeks� is a Jubilee or 49 years.
I believe that the first half of Daniel�s 70th Week has already been completed since Jesus has already put an end to all meaningful sacrifices and offerings and made a New Covenant with many until the *MIDDLE* of the 70th WEEK when He was cut off but not for Himself {See Dan 9:26a & 9:27b}. Hebrews 10:8-10: When Christ came into the world, He said: �Sacrifice and offering You did not desire� Christ set aside the first {Covenant} to establish the second�we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.� Hebrews 9:15: �Christ is the Mediator of a NEW COVENANT.� Those who wrongly believe in a 7-year Great Tribulation believe the �HE� who confirmed a Covenant with many and put an End to sacrifice and offering in Daniel 9:27a is the Anti-Christ of the End-Times and not Jesus.
Daniel 9:27: �He {Jesus not 666} will confirm a Covenant with many for one 7. In the Middle of the 7 {Or after 3 & � Times or 1260 days from Oct 23rd, AD 29} He {Jesus} will put an End to sacrifice and offering {Or on April 3-5, AD 33}. {And then after a long pause} And on a wing of the temple he {The Anti-Christ} will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed {See Rev 19:20 & 2 Thess 2:8b} is poured out on him {Which will occur on the Last Day of the 1260-day Great Tribulation at the 2nd Coming of the Anointed One} Note: Since we know that the last half of the last 7 is exactly 1260 days then the first half of the Last 7 must also be 1260 days or Oct 23rd, AD 29 to April 5th, AD 33.
NOTE: When you go from BC to AD you must deduct 1 year since there was NO year Zero. For example: Oct 23rd, 1 BC to Oct 23rd AD 1 was just 1 YEAR and not 2 years. Therefore, Oct 23rd, 455 BC to Oct 23rd, AD 29 would be exactly 483 years or 69 7�s since 455+29 = 484 minus 1 equals exactly 483 years or 69 7�s or WEEKS.
Daniel 9:24: �70 7�s are decreed to *ANOINT THE MOST HOLY* {After 69 7�s or 483 years�The Anointed One then began teaching the New Covenant} *TO ATONE FOR WICKEDNESS* {Exactly 3 � Times or 1260 Days after His Anointing in the *MIDDLE* of the Last 7; the Anointed One put an end to all sacrifices for sin�See Dan 9:27a} *TO PUT AN END TO SIN AND BRING IN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS*.� {EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS will occur on the Last Day of the 70 7�s exactly 3 � Times or 1260 Days after the Abomination of Desolation comes up from the Abyss�See Dan 9:27}
NOTE: About 280 years earlier God made this amazing prophecy in Isaiah 44:28: The Lord� says of *CYRUS*, �He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of JERUSALEM LET IT BE REBUILT!� This verse absolutely contradicts the Artaxerxes theory! Daniel 9:25,27: �From the issuing of the Decree {By Cyrus on October 23rd, 455 BC�See Isaiah 44:28 above} to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the ANOINTED ONE, the RULER, comes {Jesus was Anointed on Oct 23rd , AD 29} THERE WILL BE 7 7�S AND 62 7�S {Or 69 7�s or 483 years}� *HE* {The ANOINTED RULER} will confirm a Covenant with many for one 7 {This Covenant will not End until the Last Day of the Last 7 when the ANOINTED RULER, Jesus Christ, comes again}. In the MIDDLE of the 70th 7 {On April 3-5, AD 33 exactly 1260 days after His Anointing} *HE* {The ANOINTED RULER} will put an end to all {Meaningful} sacrifices and offerings {By His Atonement for sin}. {And then after a long pause the Last Half of the 70th Week will begin when}� �The Abomination of Desolation will come {Up from the Abyss or Hell-See Rev 11:7 & 17:8b} until the decreed end is poured out on him.� {By the Anointed Ruler {Jesus} exactly 1260 days later on the Last Day�See Rev 19:20; Dan 9:27b; 2 Thess 2:8b}
And so the �FIRST HALF� of the 70th Week began at the Anointing of Jesus on Oct 23rd, AD 29; and ended 1260 days later in the �Middle of the 70th Week� on April 5th, AD 33 at the Resurrection of Jesus; when He completed our Atonement for sin by �Tasting Death� {See Heb 2:9b} for all who will be saved; and when He eliminated all other meaningful sacrifices and offerings for sin.
Have you ever wondered why God selected the time period of 1260 Days for the Great Tribulation immediately before the 2nd Coming of Jesus and our resurrection?? It may very well be because Jesus went through 1260 days of Great Tribulation beginning with His 40 days of fasting and ending with His resurrection!! I Pet 2:21: �Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.�
As we have shown before Jesus became our High Priest and began His ministry on His 30th earthly birthday on December 2nd AD 29 {See Luke 3:23} as per OT Law {See I Chron 23:3} which was exactly 40 days after His Anointing or Baptism {See Luke 4:2 and Matt 4:2} on October 23rd, AD 29; which was exactly 1260 days before His resurrection on April 5th, {The 16th of ABIB} AD 33. And so the 30th birthday of Jesus was 40 days after October 23rd, AD 29 on or about December 2nd, AD 29. Jesus was 30 years old when he began his ministry {as per OT law} on his 30th birthday or on December 2nd, AD 29. Which would mean that Jesus would have been born on December 2nd, 2 BC since you must deduct 1 year going from BC to AD; since there was no year Zero. {Dec 2nd 1 BC to Dec 2nd AD 1 was just 1 year and not 2 years} If Jesus was born on December 2nd, 2 BC then He would have been circumcised on the 8th day or on December 10th, 2 BC and his parents would have taken him to God's temple to offer a sacrifice 33 days later as per OT law {See Lev 12:3,4,6-8} which would have been on January 12th, 1 BC. The events that occurred when Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to God's temple to offer a sacrifice are recorded in Luke 2:21-38. Joseph could have been warned by an angel that Herod the Great would try to kill Jesus as early as the evening of Jan 12th, 1 BC {See Matt 2:13-15} and Herod's decree to kill all the children in the Bethlehem {See Matt 2:16} area could have occurred as early as Jan 13th, 1 BC. Now according to the exact science of astronomy there were 2 eclipses of the moon in this approximate time period on March 13th, 4 BC and on JANUARY 9th, 1 BC. According to the complete Works of Josephus, pages 363-365 we learn that Herod had erected a large golden eagle above the temple entrance which was against God's law. Mathias and 40 Jews tore down this golden eagle and destroyed it; and they were captured and burned to the stake by order of Herod; and that night there was an eclipse of the moon. {On January 9th, 1 BC} H!
erod could have then ordered the death of all of the children 2 years old or younger on or about Jan 13th, 1 BC. Herod then became deathly sick because of his terrible sins, and went to his winter home in Jericho where he ordered that all the principal men of the Jewish nation should be burned alive. Herod also ordered the death of his own son Antipater who was to succeed him; and on the 5th day after the execution of his son; Herod the Great died. And so Herod the Great {Who tried to kill Jesus} would have died at least 10 days after January 9th, 1 BC when there was an eclipse of the moon in the Jerusalem area. Herod the Great would then have died about January 19th, 1 BC or shortly thereafter according to the historical account of Josephus, and therefore Jesus could have been born about December 2nd, 2 BC. The March 13th, 4 BC eclipse of the moon doesn't work since then Jesus would have been 33 years old when he began his ministry which would contradict God's Word in Luke 3:23: "Now Jesus Himself was as 30 years old {His human age} when He began His ministry."
On the Last Day of the 70th Week {Which is also the Last Day of the 1260-day Great Tribulation at the 7th & Last Trumpet} Jesus will give the saints of all ages their new heavenly bodies and they will then enjoy the marriage Feast of the Lamb. Immediately after the Marriage Feast of the Lamb {On the same Last Day of the Lord} Jesus will mount a great White Horse and His saints of all ages will follow Him on white horses. {See Rev 19:7,8,11-14; 17:14} They will conquer the Beast {666} and his armies, and the Beast {Nero Caesar or 666} will then be thrown back into the Abyss or Hell for all eternity. {See Rev 19:20; Dan9:27b; 2 Thess 2:8b}Revelation 3:3: Jesus said, �REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED; OBEY IT AND REPENT. BUT **IF** YOU DO NOT WAKE UP, I WILL COME LIKE A THIEF, AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW AT *WHAT TIME* I WILL COME TO YOU.�
Wasn�t Jesus a Post-Trib Prophet when he never even mentioned the supposedly very important pre-trib, rapture, fairy tale in Matt 24:3-31 or Rev 5 to 19!! Rev 22:16: �I Jesus, have sent My angel to give *YOU*{The Greek for *YOU* is plural and therefore includes*ALL SAINTS*} this testimony {ALL OF REVELATION} *FOR THE CHURCHES*!� QUESTION: Will every saint present during the Great Tribulation have his name written in the LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE and therefore be a member of the CHURCH of Jesus Christ?? ANSWER Revelation 13:8: "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the Beast > {Anti-Christ}.... ALL whose names have not been written in the LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE!"
The ONLY TIME that Paul mentions the Anti-Christ of Man of Lawlessness {Who will rule the world from Rome during the 1260-Day Tribulation} is in 2 Thess 2:3-9. 2 Thess 2:9: �The coming of the Lawless One will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.� 2 Thess 1:1; 2:1,3,8: �To the *CHURCH* of the Thessalonians� Concerning the *COMING* of our Lord Jesus Christ and *OUR* being gathered to Him� Don�t let anyone deceive you in any way, for *THAT DAY* will not come *UNTIL* the Man of Lawlessness is revealed!!, the Man doomed to destruction� Then the Lawless One will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus Christ will destroy with the splendor of His *COMING*!� And so Paul absolutely confirms the *COMING* of the Lord Jesus will come on the *LAST DAY* of the Great 1260-day Great Tribulation when His *CHURCH saints will be gathered to Him! And Mark 13:11b absolutely contradicts the idea {From a wrong interpretation of 2 Thess 2:7} that the Holy Spirit will not be in the Tribulation saints. 2 Thess 2:6 paraphrased with obvious additions: �The reason that the Coming of the Man of Lawlessness is being held back: is that he may be revealed at the PROPER TIME.� Which would be exactly 1260 days before the *COMING* of our Lord Jesus Christ on the *LAST DAY*. John 6:40: �For my Father�s will is that EVERYONE who looks to the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the LAST DAY!� There are some who wrongly believe that the LAST DAY mentioned 6 times in John 6:39,40,44,54; 11:24 & 12:48 refers to the first day of the Great Tribulation 1260 days or 7 years before the LAST DAY. While John 12:48 shows that the lost will also be condemned on that same LAST DAY! John 12:48: Jesus says, �There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the LAST DAY!�
Some End-Time Groups who wrongly interpret Daniel 9:27a, and who believe in a 7-year Tribulation, {Starting with a New Jewish Temple} are now spreading false rumors that religious Jews are planning to tear down the Muslim Dome of the Rock in order to rebuild a Jewish Temple to Biblical specifications and will then REINSTUTE animal sacrifices??? However there are several big problems with this scenario: ** All 21 Arab Muslim nations including Pakistan which has many nuclear bombs would then immediately declare an all-out Holy War on Israel, and the Israeli government fully understands this. I know this for I was a missionary in Israel. A Jewish Temple built to Biblical specifications would then take at least 7 years to build during this continuous war with the 21 Muslim nations. And most of these same End-Time Groups also teach that a pre-trib rapture could occur TODAY {Not at least 7 years from today} Now all those who believe in a 7-year Tribulation only because of the wrong interpretation of Daniel 9:27a also believe that immediately following this pre-trib rapture of the Church saints that the Anti-Christ will make a Covenant with Israel; allowing the Jews to make animal sacrifices in a Jewish Temple built to Biblical specifications. By wrongly interpreting Daniel 9:27a they believe that at the end of 3 1/2 years in the middle of the 70th week the Anti-Christ will then put an end to all animal sacrifices. These same problems would also apply to mid-trib and pre-wrath rapturists who also believe in this same 7-Year End-Time scenario and who also believe illogically according to their beliefs that this 7-year Tribulation could then begin TODAY. **** Most importantly: For over 1,000 years religious Jews have believed that when their Messiah comes He will bring with him the New Jewish Temple and the required Ark of the Covenant. And then the Messiah will re-establish the Levitical priesthood; who will then offer animal sacrifices according to OT Law. For according to OT Law {See Numbers 3:5-10} al!
l Jewish Priests must prove that they are direct descendants of Levi and these Levitical genealogies were completely destroyed when the last Jewish Temple was destroyed in AD 70. Therefore, no Scriptural OT animal sacrifices could possibly occur before then; since no Jew can now prove that he is a Levite!! And so if you are waiting for this Jewish Temple to be built to Biblical specifications by Jews who will then offer animal sacrifices; you are going to have to wait until this bogus Jewish messiah comes. Please do not hold your breath until this time!
Did Herod the Great completely destroy the 2nd Temple including its foundations around 17 BC?? The following is a quote from "Antiquities of the Jews" by Josephus, Page 334, Para 1 & 3: "And now Herod, in the 18th year of his reign undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of God and make it LARGER in compass, and to raise it to a most significant altitude, as esteeming it to be the most glorious of all his actions and this would be sufficient for an everlasting memorial to him....so Herod TOOK AWAY THE OLD FOUNDATIONS AND LAID OTHERS, and erected the temple upon them. Herod's Temple was 100 cubits {150 feet} long." {The first two temples were both 60 cubits {90 feet} long as per 2 Chronicles 3:3 & Ezra 6:3.} So then Herod's Temple was the 3RD TEMPLE which according to John 2:20 took "46 years to build". There are some who believe that a {4th} Jewish Temple built to Biblical specifications will appear during the End-Times and is suggested in Revelation 11:1. It is interesting to note that the temple in heaven is mentioned 12 times in Revelation where worshippers are present {Rev 3:12;7:15;11:19 (2X);14:15,17;15:5,6,8(2x); Rev 16:1,17. The only other time that a temple is mentioned is in Rev 11:1 where worshippers are present; so this could also be a reference to the temple in heaven. The holy city (In Rev 11:2) {not the earthly Jerusalem which is called Sodom or Egypt in Rev 11:8} in the outer court {earthly saints?} could be a reference to the holy saints on earth who will be trampled on by the Gentiles and 666 for 42 months as per Rev 13:5-10. Let us compare Rev 11:1 with Rev 7:15 and Rev 8:3-5: Rev 11:1: I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the TEMPLE OF GOD and the ALTAR, and count the worshippers there." Rev 7:15:"They {martyrs as per Rev 7:9-14} are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His TEMPLE." Rev 8:3-5: Another angel, who had a golden censor, came and stood at the ALTAR. He was given much incense to of!
fer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden ALTAR before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Ephesians 2:19b-22: "You are members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone {Of the 4th and LAST Temple}. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. 2 Cor 6:16 "For WE are the TEMPLE of the Living God!"

NOTE: A BIBLE MONTH IS *ALWAYS* 30 DAYS

The only other text where the Bible specifies the number of days in a month is Genesis 7:11 & Genesis 8:3,4: Where the 17th day of the 2nd Bible Month {Gen 7:11} to the 17th day of the 7th Bible Month {Gen 8:4} is EXACTLY 150 days which would be exactly five 30-day months {Gen 8:3 & Gen 7:34}. All Bible Years are 12 consecutive 30-day months followed by 5 or 6 days. Pagan Babylonian Moon Months sinfully adopted by Israel during the Babylonian captivity have alternating 29 and 30-day months since there is a New Moon every 29� days If God was using Babylonian Moon Months in the above passage he would have said that 5 Bible Months were 147 or 148 days and not EXACTLY 150

Date: 17 Nov 2010
Time: 11:28:20

Your Comments:

Thanks for the hard work and research you have done. What is your position on the location of the Kingdom of God? Will there be mortals in this Kingdom? Am thinking of Pauls' statement "Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (1Cor.15:50). Jesus also made statements similar. What do you think? Thanks a gain for your Websites. Walter C. Martin Jr.